The Dodo Archive

My Senior Project: Animals in Captivity

Preface During my AP Biology class last year, each student had to engage in a debate and write a paper about some biology- related topic of their choice. As a class we explored some topics together. Like many others who had recently seen Blackfish I was horrified at the atrocities committed by SeaWorld, and so I raised my hand and offered up the ideas of wild animals in captivity. Many people are shocked at the practice of keeping killer whales in captivity, but what about other wild animals? I myself, had been to the Zoo and 6 Flags Discovery Kingdom many times throughout my life but after seeing Blackfish I realized that it seemed wrong to say that killer whales were the only animals who deserved to be free. It was really Blackfish and the research that a did for that debate that made me realize how cruel it is to keep wild animals in captivity (and remember, I'm not speaking about domesticated animals- there are many dogs, cats, bunnies and more that need loving homes). Once I saw how horrible it was that humans were doing this to such majestic creatures I knew that I needed to express my opinion and share information with others. This is why when it came time to do a senior project, I chose this topic. For my senior project I decided to visit a variety of places that host wild animals and write a paper about what I learned and want others to learn. Below is my article.

Animals in Captivity To understand how wild animals are treated in captivity, I visited five different facilities that keep wild animals- all for different reasons. First, on my list, I went to Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito. This center rehabilitates marine mammals that are injured or sick. People can view the animals but one can sense that the purpose of this place is to help animals and to educate people. There are signs asking visitors to be quiet and educational signs and tables explaining how we can do our part to help marine life. There is also an indoor classroom area with stuffed animals that died of natural causes. This is also the same feel one gets from visiting WildCare Solutions in San Rafael, although there are different types of animals here. The ambiance of the facility fits the animals here; it feels wild. There is a creek that runs right by the entrance along with trees and shrubs by the door. When I visited here I saw many types of birds, a squirrel, and a turtle. The animals here are also being rehabilitated and there are signs on each animal's cage explaining what kind of animal it is, where it's from and why it's there. There is also a room where there are stuffed wild animals and informs about them. Upstairs there is also a hospital. The last place I visited on my list of places that treated animals ethically was a little different from the first two. I decided to see the Richardson Bay Audubon Center and Sanctuary. I had visited the Audubon Canyon before and learned that Audubon centers are a great way to see local wildlife in their natural habitat. It's located in a beautiful area and while it may not have a large variety of animals there are birds, squirrels, muscles, and sometimes seals! Then, I moved onto places that I knew exploited wild animals. Almost every major city across America has a zoo, so I went to the San Francisco Zoo. I parked in the Ocean Beach parking lot so I didn't have to pay for parking and I didn't buy anything at the Zoo except for my ticket to enter. I went to the zoo several times when I was a child but it wasn't until now that I saw how sad and lonely the all of the animals seemed. I saw constant hypocrisy in the signs. The signs would explain what each animal has in their natural habitat but many of those aspects were lacking in the enclosure. For example, the gorillas and African cats, are in an enclosure that is looked down upon which makes them feel vulnerable. By the African animals, I saw a sign that said that said the climate in Africa and San Francisco is not that different. It was so unbelievable to see that sign, especially because the day I visited it was extremely foggy and cold in the morning in San Francisco. There is so much noise and commotion from the large crowds and train that drives by. The gift shops and the food are overpriced; the clear purpose here is to make money. After this visit I went to go visit Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and again did not pay for parking or buy anything other than my ticket, which I got online for a slightly discounted price. Seeing animals Six Flags was harder than seeing them at the zoo. The conditions were horrible- cramped and small. They have to put up with the constant roar of the roller coasters and are forced to perform shows. The African cats are in extremely small cages and the Dolphins have several shows a day. The elephants are made to give rides to guests while a handler stood by its side with a bull hook. Elephants actually have extremely sensitive skin and bull hooks cause them a lot of pain. There are even smoking sections throughout the park which exposes the animals to several toxins. In both the San Francisco Zoo and 6 Flags, I saw animals pace back and forth from boredom, hypocrisy, aggression between animals, cages that were too small and overall injustice. Many people chose to ignore these cruelties but any human can see that this is wrong. These animals deserve better.

After visiting these places first hand, I then did more research online. Zoos and Aquariums are some of the largest tourist attractions in the world. Famous Zoos such as The Bronx Zoo, The San Diego Zoo, and SeaWorld have visitors that attend from all over the world. In fact, American Zoos draw over 134 million visitors each year (The Collective). They offer a lot for families to do and are often a lot cheaper than amusement parks. They have animals, rides, food, and gift shops. There even award winning movies about zoos such as Life of Pi or We Bought a Zoo. Many see these zoos as fun and innocent and do not have a care for the treatment of animals there but care more about the enjoyment of their families. A lot of people see animals as inferior and do not think it is wrong or immoral to lock them up while others are not educated enough on the issue and continue to go to these zoos. There are people who enjoy zoos, care about the issue and are educated on it but believe zoos serve more good than harm. They believe in the breeding programs and the rescue programs that zoos have to offer. While people support zoos for different reasons, one thing is sure- zoos do have a lot of support.

But zoos have almost just as much as an opposition now in days. The documentary Blackfish, made a huge splash when it debuted. Prior to this documentary, most Americans thought of SeaWorld as a fun vacation spot to go with their families. Until Blackfish most people knew very little about the horrors that both the animals and trainers face there. In 1983, a one year old orca was taken from his home in the North Atlantic. This whale, named Tilakum, was taken to Sealand of the Pacific, a marine mammal park, in Victoria Canada. He along with two other orca whales was kept in an enclosed area where they were forced to perform tricks for people's enjoyment. As a training technique, if they did not perform as told they would be deprived of food. At night in order to avoid having the whales getting stolen and released the three whales would be kept in a metal container that was only 20 feet by 30 feet. The average full grown orca is anywhere from 20 to 30 feet long. In the winter time these whales could be in there from as long as 5 p.m. To 7 a.m. This abuse and enclosure of of Tilakum in such a small space lead him to go through a process, of what many believe was psychosis. While Tilikum was at Sealand, he killed one of his trainers. He was then sold to SeaWorld, where he killed two more people; one was a homeless man on drugs who stayed at seaworld past closing time, the other an experienced trainer. The death of this trainer, Dawn Brancheau, is one of the main reasons this documentary was made. Blackfish shows several heart wrenching scenes including some of calves being separated from their mothers. Blackfish also tells many of the secrets that Seaworld attempts to cover up in order to protect their image. For instance, they hid from their trainers that Tilikum was dangerous which ended up costing two lives at SeaWorld. Many people were also shocked by the fact that even though Tilikum is dangerous, 54% of the whales in SeaWorld now have his DNA (Blackfish). This documentary has led to a huge movement to boycott SeaWorld.

PETA, people for the ethical treatment of animals, is one of the most well-known animal rights organizations that fight against zoos. Although PETA works in a variety of areas involving animals rights one of its main focuses is the capture and breeding of wild animals. PETA raises awareness about the unnaturalness and cruelties that animals face in captivity. PETA refers to Zoos as pitiful prisons and campaigns to encourage people not to attend (Zoos: Pitiful).

There are many boards which oversee the safety in zoos however, like in many other areas of government there is a lot of corruption which goes on. These Zoos are multimillion dollar corporations that can afford to hire the best lawyers to win lawsuits and have lobbyists. After Tatiana the tiger bit a zookeeper when he stuck his arm in her cage to feed her, the San Francisco zoo was only charged with an $18,000 by the California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health, yet they should have been charged with violation to the Animal Welfare Act for lack of standard regulations (S.F Zoo). These zoos and aquariums don't want to have a tarnished imagine with scandals so they make sure that secrets are covered up and that they win.

Although zoos may not seem like a controversial topic on the outside, the deeper you look into the more you see issues. These two sides are being more and more polarized. Maybe one day zoos will no longer exist. Maybe one day they will become more popular than they already are. No one can say for sure what will happen to the future of zoos but for now each side is continuing to push harder and harder for what they believe is right. There are so many species of animals on this planet that no one truly knows the exact number. Humans are a part of that unknown number- simply mammals that share the planet with the rest. We are no better or worse than any other animal. No life is any more important than any other and we do not have the right to lock up other animals for our enjoyment. The primary concern of most zoos is the entertainment of the visitors, not the well being of the animals that reside there. Take Marine world, SeaWorld, or San Francisco Zoo for example. These places all have rides, food, and gift stores. They exploit these animals and put money into making the zoo more enjoyable.

People often argue that zoos breed animals that may be near extinction. However, two wrongs don't make a right. To prevent endangered animals from becoming extinct, stricter laws need to be put into place that more severely punish the poacher or hunters that kill these wild animals. Although it can be difficult to do this because wildlife live in every different area of the world, including developing countries that do not have strong, stable governments. This is why it is important for international organizations to step in and act for the ethical treatment of animals. Besides, breeding animals in captivity overtime changes the DNA of these animals. They evolve to get rid of instincts that they would have had in the wild because in zoos they are not prey or predators.

If animals are injured and need to be saved then they should be taken to wildlife sanctuaries where they can heal and be released back into the wild. They, unlike zoos, do not buy breed, or sell animals. When I was visiting 6 Flags Discovery Kingdom, the employee told me that most of the animals there were breed or bought but a few were rescued. Sanctuaries primary goal is to ensure the safety and welfare of animals, unlike zoos.

Although zoos do educate the general population on wild animals they don't do it correctly. The right way to see wild animals is not locked up in a cage. By learning about animals in the zoo, people learn about the human made idea of locking wild animals up. They don't get to see the animals explore their open habitats or enjoy their natural climate. A better alternative to this would be to see animals at a sanctuary, where they are not exploited. This is not their natural either, however, when people visit animals in a sanctuary they are not giving more money to take animals from their homes and breed more into captivity. The best way to truly learn about wild animals is to go on a safari. This way the humans, who are the ones who want to look at wild animals, are in the cages. Why put an animal in a cage when it doesn't have a choice? If a human being wants to see an animal then they need to sit in the cage on a back of a truck while it takes them on a safari. Although seeing wild animals in their natural can be expensive because not everyone has the funds to visit Africa, Asia, or the Arctic that is in no way the lions, elephants, or polar bears fault. They should not be subjected to a horrible life in a cage because another entitled species wants to look at them.

If safaris are too expensive for people to learn about wild animals, than a perfectly good way is through magazines, books, the internet, or television. There are millions of articles out there written by scientists who have observed animals in their natural habitats. Go on line, and there are a million more articles about animals from all over the world, as well as videos of them behaving in several different ways. The National Geographic has some of the most amazing and interesting shows on television that depicts all types of wild animals and their lives. These cameramen and women shoot pictures and videos of these animals and let the world see how they truly live without disturbing them or interfering in anyway.

Because animals in captivity are given food and shelter in a confined space they do not get to hunt and move around as much. In many animals this results in a shorter lifespan than they would have in the wild. This seems ironic because animals that are taken care of seem as if they would have a longer life span but animals such as elephants an orca whales on average live longer in the wild than they do in captivity. These animals also suffer from defects and injuries. All male orcas in captivity have collapsed dorsal fins while in the wild less than 1% does (Blackfish). Although this doesn't seem to affect their health greatly, it is an effect of their unhealthy environment. Elephants in captivity also face foot problems that cause walking problems. One UK study from 2005, showed that 75% of elephants in captivity were overweight, as a result of being overfed and not enough space to exercise and 80% had foot problems resulting in many of them not being able to walk properly (Lin).

Many wild animals have complex emotions and feelings and often become depressed or psychotic from being cooped up for so long. Most animals that are locked up in zoos, understand what is happening to them. Tilikum, an orca whale at Sealand, who was later brought to SeaWorld, along with two other orca whales were kept in an enclosed area where they were forced to perform tricks for people's enjoyment. As a training technique, if they did not perform as told they would be deprived of food. At night in order to avoid having the whales getting stolen and released the three whales would be kept in a metal container that was only 20 feet by 30 feet. The average orca is anywhere from 20 to 30 feet long. In the winter time these whales could be in there from as long as 5 p.m. To 7 a.m. (Blackfish). This abuse and enclosure of of Tilakum in such a small space lead him to go through a process, of what many believe was psychosis.

Most wild animals are pack animals or herd animals; they have families. The artificial creation of animals of a same species that a Zoo throws in one enclosure together is not a family. The animals know this and it causes aggression and depression amongst them. For example, big cats travel in prides and have a sense of family because they are biologically related but in zoos cats from different parts of the world are forced to become a family. These animals often end up fighting or even killing each other because they are not family and should not be put in such close proximity. Even when animals breed in zoos and have biological offspring they are often traded or sold to fit the image the zoo wants (Blackfish).

Animals in captivity are not only in danger but they are also a danger to others. One well known incident occurred at the San Francisco Zoo on Christmas Day in 2007. A Siberian Tiger was being taunted by three teenagers who were intoxicated and taunting the tiger. The tiger jumped out of its enclosure and ended up killing one person and injuring two others. The tiger was put down for this. The tiger was put down for what its instincts tell it to do- to kill. The problem was never the safety of the cage it was in. The problem was the plain and simple fact that it was in a cage in the first place.

Zoos are a selfish thing. Nothing gives humans the right to lock up other animals for our enjoyment. We must realize how we are hurting the other creatures we share this planet with and how it's not fair.